Be Devoted to One Another
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INTRODUCTION
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· Price of Sermon
It was a beautiful Sunday morning at Clearwater Community Church. Pastor Taylor approached the pulpit with a big smile – greeted the congregation and then announced – “I have three sermons in my hands: $100 sermon that lasts five minutes, $50 dollar sermon that lasts fifteen minutes, and a $20 dollar sermon that lasts an hour. Now, would the ushers please come forward to take the collection and we’ll see which one I deliver.” We’re already taken he offering so there is no chance to get the length of sermon you want this morning. Just in case anyone is worried that’s not the way it works—you really can’t buy the length of sermon and that shouldn’t be your motivation for giving in the first place. I’ve got one “priceless” sermon that will probably be about 40 minutes.
Need –
Question: What comes to mind when you hear the word devotion? (Share) What do you think of? Devotion is defined in the dictionary as “a strong feeling of love or loyalty.” What is an example of being devoted to someone or something?
· Olympic or professional athlete
· Couple celebrating their 75th anniversary
· Retiring after working the same job for 50 years
· Loyalty to a brand or company (Nike, mechanic, or hairdresser)
· Other?
We live in an era that in many ways promotes and embraces a lack of devotion. We live in a consumer-driven, self-seeking culture. Let’s consider two examples.
The NBA is currently in the offseason period known as “free agency” – players whose contracts end become “free agents” and can sign with other teams – and all the sportswriters and broadcasters rant about a player’s lack of devotion to their organization and teammates when they choose to leave for another team that will pay them more money? Every free agent must wrestle through what they are devoted to – current team, community they live/play in (fans), $, or chasing a championship with another team (For anyone who cares Lebron Jams is now a LA Laker). People question Lebron’s devotion to Cleveland
I saw a commercial on T.V. last week that proclaimed this self-centered message - “You do you.” (Literally the actor said that while trying to sell me something). Do what you want to do. Be concerned first and foremost with your own happiness and fulfilling your own desires. Can I be honest with you, that’s ultimately a sad and unsatisfying way to life your life. Truly. If you live that way it will terminate on itself because there is a greater purpose for living than yourself. (Know God, glorify Him, and being in relationships where you can serve and be served).
The consumer-driven and self-centered culture says \if you’re not happy in a marriage than break your vow of devotion, if your job doesn’t taylor things to fit and meet your needs, go find a new one, if a teacher holds his/her students to a high academic standard beyond your liking, then drop the class. And this infiltrates the church - If a church doesn’t do what you want done, go find another one that will (as if the sole purpose of the church is to meet my needs).
Now that’s not to say that there aren’t good reasons to end a marriage, quit a job, drop a class, sign a contract with a different team, or find a new church but all too often these decisions are made with a heart that is driven to please our own selfish desires
What are you devoted to in life? – Family. Career. Team. Jesus. Brand. Sport. Hobby. Friends. Fun. Self-gratification. A Church. What does “devotion” to a church family look like in a consumer-driven age where you can “church shop” and find the one that meets all of your needs?
Preview
Take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans. Romans Chapter 12 . The book of Romans is a letter the apostle Paul penned to the Christians in Rome in A.D. 57. Romans is a theologically robust – it outlines a systematic defense of the basic elements of the Christian faith (gospel) – humanity’s sin and God’s provision for righteousness through Jesus Christ. Romans is linked to Galatians as both strongly pronounce a sinner’s justification through faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. The basic theme (message) of Romans is the revelation of God’s provision of righteousness in the gospel. Romans reveals the sinfulness of man (1-3), God’s way of salvation (3-5), the life of salvation through sanctification (6-8), God’s sovereignty in salvation (9-11), and a life of serving God (12-16).
In Romans Chapter 12 we several instructions about living the Christian life. In we find the call to lay our lives down as an offering before God as an act of worship being transformed by the renewing our minds instead of being conformed to the world so that we can know God’s will. The rest of Chapter contains instructions about a Christian’s conduct—the humble exercising of one’s spiritual gifts (12:3-8), the way to treat one’s fellow believers (12:9-13), and finally the way to treat people outside the church who don’t know Christ (12:14-21) Today we turn our attention to the section that highlights how to treat our fellow believers—zeroing in on the exhortation in . (READ ). The thrust of this section is genuine love (12:8) and how that’s expressed in how we treat one another as fellow believers (12:9-13). Today we turn or focus to . It’s just one verse but it packs a punch. Let’s dig into this passage to take a closer look at this short and straightforward challenge to “Be Devoted to One Another” and how to live it out in our lives as a church family.
I) The Plea for Loving Devotion ()
We begin with “The Plea for Loving Devotion.” In we find this simple plea, “be devoted to one another in brotherly love.”
In the first half of this verse we find two words that highlight a family’s affection, keeping these exhortations in the context of genuine love (12:9), and reminding us that “love” is the distinctive characteristic of discipleship. The Greek text says “philostorgos one another in philadelphia.” The Greek word philostorgos (“be devoted”) describes the “natural affection for close family members, typically in reference to “a parent’s love for a child” (Dunn), and it refers to the kind of family love that creates a bond and unity. The phrase “in brotherly love” is the Greek word philadelphia which denotes love for one’s brother and sister. Therefore this is an imperative plea to be devoted to one another like a loving family is tied together based on their love for one another as brothers and sisters. John Stott describes the plea as “tender, warm affection which should unite the members of the family of God.”[1] (Stott). Therefore when you put it together this is a plea for loving devotion to one another as a family—our lives bound together and united in the love we share as siblings in God’s family—to be devoted to one another because of our love for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Application
The “Plea for Loving Devotion” has profound implications for our lives as a church family. A Christian’s devotion to one another is born out of their love for one another as members of God’s family. We’ve already talked about our call to “love one another” as a church family in week one of this series. And yet today we see that our call to “love one another” is lived out by being devoted to one another. We are called to live lives of loving devotion to one another because we’re a loving family
· “Blood Brothers” illustration/story
We’re “blood brothers and sisters.” We’ve been adopted into God’s family through the shed blood of Jesus. Our love for one another as brothers and sisters is a love that binds us together and produces a life of devotion to one another. Let’s ask the hard questions this morning.
· Are we devoted to one another as a loving family?
· How devoted are you to this family? – jeopardize it?
· Would you leave this church family because you didn’t get your own way?
· Would you leave this church family because your feelings go hurt?
· Would you leave this church family because you don’t like the music?
· Would you leave this church family because you disagree with someone politically? Theologically? (Non-essential of the faith)
Again, that’s not to say that there aren’t good reasons to leave a church, it might be necessary if a church has abandoned orthodox doctrine (heretical or cult), stopped preaching & teaching the Bible, promotes sin, mistreated or ignored, or complete lack of alignment with our mission & ministry philosophy. Each of those situations should be handled prayerfully and appropriately.
I suspect it might be hard for some of you to risk being lovingly devoted to a church family. Perhaps the appeal for loving devotion to a church family is foreign to some of you? You’ve never been committed to a church in this way? For some of you the appeal for loving devotion to one another will take some time because you’re new. Devotion to a local church family will be part of your spiritual growth/maturity in the faith. Some of you are hesitant to be devoted to this church family because you’ve been hurt by another church family. Some of you have risked and lost friendships because of your loving devotion to this church family but that hasn’t deterred you.
We’re a family but we’re an imperfect family. We’re going to let each other down, we’re going to hurt each other’s feelings (don’t leave…stay devoted to one another…restore the relationships through repentance and forgiveness), we’re going to get on each other’s nerves, we’re going to stick our foot in our mouths, we’re going to be miss the mark (sinners saved by grace!). In those difficult moments we must be a family – loving one another, forgiving one another, serving one another, comforting one another, and being devoted to one another.
Regardless of where you are at, in the midst of your doubts, hesitations, fears, questions, vulnerability, or commitment God is big enough to heal the hurt, help you overcome the fear, and empower you to live out a life of loving devotion. The call is not to simple “attend” a local church but to “belong” to a local church—lovingly devoted to one another as a family! It’s worth the risk! It’s worth the sacrifice! If you risk living a life of loving devotion, you’ll have the joy of being a part of a church family that will care for you, encourage you, challenge you, and help you know God more and more each day (growing to be like Jesus), and you’ll have the joy of being a part of a church family that is caught up in something bigger than ourselves so that we can fulfill our disciple-making mission and make the name of Jesus great in our city! Let’s live out this “Appeal for Loving Devotion” to one another.
II) The Practice of Loving Devotion ()
How do we live out a life of loving devotion to one another? Great question! We find the answer in the second half of . In the second half of we find “The Practice of Loving Devotion.” The Practice of Loving Devotion. (Read )
In the second part of we find a second exhortation—“Honor one another above yourselves”—“give preference to one another in honor” (NASB). In many English translations it appears like these are two completely separate ONE ANOTHER commands. And yet this call to “honor one another above yourselves” is actually connected to the previous plea to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” The NET Bible captures this connection well—"Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness (participle) in honoring one another.[2] In the first half of we discover “what” we’re called to do (“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love) while the second half of we discover “how” we’re called to do it (by honoring one another above yourselves”). gives us one way to live out a life of devotion in this family—by honoring others above ourselves (there are more).
The call to “honor one another above yourself” is the act of assigning someone a position of status or respect that is higher than your own—it’s an eagerness to “take the lead” (set an example) in honoring others in this family above yourself—it’s excelling at showing others in this family honor instead of being eager to gain honor for yourself. The ESV Bible captures the essence of the act by translating the phrase as “Outdo one another in showing honor.” In this sense it sounds like a competition – “I’m going to strive to honor you more than you honoring me.”
The act of honoring one another is not embracing a false humility that denies your own gifting or ignores that you might have greater knowledge, skill or wisdom than someone, for in the context of this challenge we are instructed to “not think of ourselves more highly than we ought but rather judge ourselves rightly while embracing and exercising the gifts we possess (12:3-8). The act of honoring one another is not saying “I’m no good” and “You’re so great” but rather “I’m gifted by God” but I’m eager to “honor” you instead of “honoring” myself. The Practice of Loving Devotion is being eager to honor your fellow believers above yourself. A Christian’s genuine loving devotion to their brother or sister in Christ will produce in them and eagerness to “honor” their fellow believer above themselves.
Application
The Practice of Loving Devotion has profound implications for us a family. We must excel in honoring one another as an act of loving devotion. If you’re competitive by nature, you’re going to like this challenge. The Practice of Loving Devotion has us competing to out honor each other – instead of competing to gain honor in this family – so in practical terms Bekah would be striving to honor all of us more than we can honor Bekah but all the while we’re eager to honor Bekah more than she’s honoring us!
I’ll be the first to admit that this is not an easy thing to do. Our hearts are wicked, we have selfish desires, and we are more likely to “outdo one another” in gaining honor than giving honor to one another. The key to “honoring one another above ourselves” is possessing the humble mind as Jesus Christ. We read about this in . (Read ). We have this challenge to “put the interest of others ahead of our own.” Please, please, please, please notice that this doesn’t say deny or ignore your own interests as if they don’t matter, it says “do not merely look at your own interests but ut to the interests of others,” so it’s not as if you don’t have interests but you’re not so focused on your self-interests that you ignore the interests of others around you. How can this be done? “Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus.” The word “attitude” speaks of using one’s faculty for thoughtful planning. Christ’s humility of mind is exhibited by his willingness to let go of his status and privileges as God, to consider Himself nothing as nothing in order to become a servant in human flesh, and to sacrifice His own life in obedience to the Father’s will. You can’t honor someone above yourself without humility!
· William Barclay - The majority of the trouble in a “church family” arises when we fail to exhibit our loving devotion by an eagerness to honor one another. The root of the problem is pride, we need to humble ourselves in order to honor one another, giving them preference & priority over ourselves.
If we’re going to honor one another above ourselves we need to possess Christ-like humility, we’re going to have to “think the way Christ did,” so that we’ll become a servant that puts others before ourselves. If we’re going to honor one another we must have a humble mind that thinks not only of our own interests but the interests of others. We must humbly think of and treat one another as more important than ourselves.
God has called us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love by honoring one another above ourselves. Our loving devotion is accomplished by showing honor to one another—the practice of esteeming (giving preference) one another more highly than we esteem ourselves in this family—as each of us “takes the lead” in being eager to honor each other instead of being eager to honor ourselves. Once again let’s ask some hard questions this morning.
· Are you eager to acknowledge, affirm, and applaud your brothers and sisters gifting, importance, value, and service?
· Do you subtly seek to gain honor for yourself above honoring your brother and sisters in Christ?
· Are you willing to “honor” your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ above yourself?
· Are you willing to “honor” children & students in this family?
· Are you willing to “honor” your sisters and their gifting in this family? Women have great value and a vital role in the ministry of this family.
· Are you willing to “honor” your brothers and sisters who are single in this family? – They are not “less than” or “second class Christians” because their not married.
· Are you willing to “honor” your brothers and sisters who are elderly in this family? – We must know, love, and glean from them.
· Are you willing to “honor” your brothers and sisters who are new to the faith?
· Who is God leading you to “honor” this morning because of the hardness in your heart towards them?
How can we practically live out being devoted to one another through our eagerness to honor one another above ourselves?
· Parking spot
· Pews you sit in
· Open a door
· Invite others into areas of ministry to use their gifts so they can shine for His glory
· Sacrifice time – serve in nursery
· Listen instead of talking
· First in line at a potluck – roasting hotdogs/smores for someone else first on Friday!
· Helping others shine and flourish in their gifting
Are we eager to honor one another in these ways or is it done reluctantly (twist my arm - guilt trip) or apathetically? Let’s be a church that puts our “Loving Devotion” to one another into practice by honoring one another above ourselves.
CONCLUSION
Refresh – Think of Devotion? – soldier, sisters, or self? (“You do you.”)
What do you think of when you heard the word devotion? – Hopefully you’ll think of “The Plea for Loving Devotion” in this family – and the practice of loving devotion by honoring one another above our selves.
· In the movie Gladiator there is a scene where a Roman General named “Maximus” (Russell Crowe) was meeting with some of officers as the enemy lined up before them–before mounting their horses to enter the battle they shook hands (forearms) and said to one another “Strength and Honor.” “Strength & Honor.”
We have our own motto as a church family “Devotion & Honor.” We could tweak this motto and say “Devotion through Honor.”
We must be church family that embraces and exhibits loving devotion to one another by honoring (give preference) one another above ourselves in practical ways. We’re leaving behind a “Me First” mentality and embracing and “Other’s First” lifestyle. Let’s be devoted to one another in brotherly love by honoring one another above ourselves! May the Lord build into the very fabric of this family a loving devotion to one another through an eagerness to honor one another above ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pray
[1] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 331.
[2] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), .